And she's so dense sometimes
by Moon Prynces
Summary: After pondering the biggest obstacle in Drew and May's "relationship", the gang decide to help with a devious plan that can only lead to bad things. Starts with a cube. Some jealousy, confusion and bad acting mixed in. Ends...period.
1. A Beginning

11-15-07

10:34pm

Summary–After pondering the biggest obstacle in Drew and May's "relationship", the gang decide to help with a devious plan that can only lead to bad things. Starts with a cube. Some jealousy, confusion and bad acting mixed in. Ends...period.

**Disclaimer–I do not own Pokémon, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–And she's so dense sometimes**

**Chapter 1–A Beginning**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

She's so dense sometimes.

But maybe the right word was...naïve.

The first time it didn't matter. In fact, he wasn't sure why he did it or where it came from. It might have been because after having a Roselia for so long he'd grown fond of that particular flower. And maybe he hadn't meant anything at all by giving it to her.

The fact was though, it became routine. Something that neither of them got tired of, something that was not always expected – as they were usually caught up in the heat of the moment – but it always brought about some pleasant atmosphere with it.

And somewhere along the road – traveling, running into each other, competing, arguing and watching each other grow up – they got closer, friends even.

The fights were less dramatic and taunting, now more teasing with compliments hidden behind insults.

Drew could see it. He watched her since their first few meetings – finding her a worthy rival at first, and then slipping into a comfortable friendship that he didn't mind.

But Brock and Misty (who joined them once in a while) saw something else. Heck, even Ash for all his flaws and blind heroism could hear May laugh louder with him, whether she meant to or not though was still unknown. Max was also around to watch his sister's behavior, though trying to ignore it like the younger brother he was, but then wondering if Drew was even _good enough_ for his sister.

Of course like most things that occurred in their group, it wasn't spoken of.

Until now.

**xoxo**

"You know that's impossible, right?" she asked, looking at the item in his hands.

Drew glanced at her and frowned. "Nothing's impossible," he started.

"Except humans flying, yeah yeah. I've heard it before," May rolled her eyes at his predictability.

"How about a little more encouragement? If I can do it before midnight your brother owes me a twenty," he grinned, still staring at the cube with fingers moving it quickly over and over.

The brunette sighed to herself. "And if you can't do it?"

Drew was frowning again, still looking down in concentration. "I have to do a dare."

She perked up suddenly, leaning forward across the table. "Really? What kind of dare?"

"Don't know yet. He won't tell me unless I lose," Drew responded, glancing up briefly to see her face. "And I won't lose."

"Rubik's cubes are too complicated. I'd rather do math or something instead," May said to herself. "Because at least then there's always someone who can explain to me what I don't get. The chances of you finding someone who can help you with that are slim," she commented.

The thirteen year old girl sighed again as silence reigned and Drew was still focused on the colored cube in his hands – twisting and turning with his eyebrows drawn together.

She watched as he suddenly got up and began taking slow, slightly unsure steps away without once looking up from his important task.

"Where are you going?" she questioned, head in her palms as she still sat at the table.

"Pick up Roselia. Nurse Joy should be done working her magic by now," he said, still not looking up and taking weird, jerky steps.

May jumped up and jogged over just in time to grab his shoulders from behind and steer him away from a Sandslash that was patiently waiting for its trainer to finish a conversation nearby.

Drew looked up in time as he was roughly moved to the left and kept walking. "What–"

"Could you stop staring at that dumb cube all day and watch where you're going? You could've been a pile of ribbons just now! You almost walked into that Sandslash's back!" she scolded over his right shoulder, hands still there as well.

The green-haired boy glanced back to look at her face. "Right. Thanks for–" They both stopped walking and May leaned over, resting her chin on his right shoulder, staring at him with big innocent eyes.

She waited for him to continue. Drew just stared back at her. Slowly his eyes widened and his ears burned suddenly.

And then, he dropped the cube with a loud clack. Drew was removed from her grasp as he quickly bent down to retrieve it.

"I'll see you later!" he said, walking away. "I think Roselia and I are gonna train some more!" he called, looking back briefly.

May just waved energetically. "Alright. Just hope you improve because I am definitely beating you next time!" she said with a smile, watching his leave.

He turned away before she finished and picked up his pace.

**xoxo**

Now if she hadn't felt something, maybe he was just crazy. Drew called out a move distractedly and Roselia looked back at its trainer to see his frustrated face. Instead of listening to him, the pokémon walked over to its master.

Drew looked back up from his thoughts to see his pokémon looking at him questioningly. He let out a big sigh and flopped down onto the grass, lying down completely with hands behind his head.

"Sorry about this. I should've just left you to hang out at the pokémon center and gone for a walk. Now you're just tired and frustrated like I am," Drew said, closing his eyes.

"Ro-ose," the pokémon worried, also sitting down.

"Nothing's wrong," he responded to the unasked question. "Just..." The boy trailed off, then reached into a pocket to pull out the Rubik's cube and picked up where he left off. "A little puzzled," he mumbled, working on the cube.

**xoxo**

"Hey, where have you been?" Misty asked as the other girl entered the room they were staying in. For once the group had decided to get two rooms to separate the genders, since they weren't getting any younger.

"Oh, Drew and I met up for..." May glanced at the clock, "Brunch, I suppose." Misty nodded along, folding her clothes on her bed. "Max has a bet going with him about fixing this Rubik's cube before tonight at twelve."

"You guys sure hang out a lot," the redhead commented carefully.

"Hmm," May nodded, throwing herself onto her bed. "He's like..." She looked over at the other girl, face scrunched up in thought. "He's like my best guy friend. Like you and Ash," she declared.

Misty jerked up at the mention of her and Ash. She stared blankly for a moment. "Right," she said in a low voice, folding something else and looking down again.

**xoxo**

Ash, Brock and Pikachu watched the two discreetly from where they sat at a table in the pokémon center. They looked on as May smiled happily and pointed something out about the cube on the table in front of Drew. He colored suddenly, picking it up and was back to working on it.

They watched as May frowned, saying something else and noticed as Drew's twisting and turning became more erratic.

"At least he blushed," Ash finally mumbled, his palm hiding half his mouth. He moved the hand to rest his chin on it.

"Looks like love to me," Brock commented, picking up a cookie and taking a bite.

"Pika! Pika chuu!" the pokémon input, standing up on the table and raising its arms up. Pikachu's ears twitched and the three turned to see Max walking over with a book tucked under his arm.

"Hey guys! I found this great book on pokémon mating and–" The boy, soon to be eleven years old, stopped as he saw the gaze of his friend's shift to look at something.

Then they both burst out laughing and even Pikachu was smiling with a 'chaa'. Max frowned and took a seat next to Ash.

"What's so funny?" he questioned, fixing his glasses.

"Nothing," Brock said, waving a hand and calmed himself down considerably, while Ash was snorting at the thought. "We were just...watching some mating patterns too," Brock stifled a laugh.

Max just raised a brow at their antics and turned to see what they had been looking at. He sighed as they all now watched Drew make an irritated face and stalk away while May looked up blankly, not understanding.

**xoxo**

Drew angrily twisted and turned the cube in his hands, once again not paying attention to his surroundings. It was already evening – seven or so – and he wasn't looking forward to losing to Max.

Even with the feeling in his stomach threatening to throw off his concentration and May's own smile making his fingers slip the wrong way he wouldn't give up.

But he found himself pausing every once in a while as the images in his head broke free, letting them filter through to explore that strange sensation again. It wasn't something entirely unpleasant, but slightly uncomfortable. The best way he could describe it was when he was waiting for a pokémon contest to begin and as his name was called the nervousness always gave way to excitement and exhilaration.

Except he wasn't far enough along in this to know what _this_ supposed-nervousness would give way to.

As long as he had the puzzle in his hands to work on though, he could preoccupy himself with something he deemed important. Still, his mind wandered as his hands moved swiftly and without thinking.

Ash was just walking by the table that Drew sat at when he heard the loud sound. The dark-haired boy glanced over to find Drew gaping, his hands empty and the Rubik's cube was once again resting on the floor.

"Drew?" he questioned, walking closer.

The younger boy was suddenly animated again, mumbling 'shoot' under his breath and leaning down to snatch up the object.

**xoxo**

He opened his door cautiously after jumping at the sound of a soft knock.

"May?" Drew asked blankly, staring at her. "What are you–" he began in a whisper.

May just smiled brightly in front of him, putting a finger to her lips in the 'shh' motion. Then she used the same finger to point at the clock on the table.

"Eleven...fifty-nine," he said to himself. Then he looked back at her with a raised brow. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"

May rolled her eyes. "Come on. I told Max I'd get you and make sure you didn't cheat. Time's up, buddy," she responded, grabbing his wrist to drag him out of the room.

"Isn't everyone asleep by now?" he asked back, closing his door on his way out.

"Come on, what are you – five?" she said, not looking back as he was being pulled along. "Everyone else is waiting in the lobby and we've got midnight snacks! You have the cube right?"

Drew was already pulling it out of his pocket. "You wanna let go of me now?"

"Nope. You might try to cheat and finish even a little bit more," she said back.

He sighed, and in a few more seconds they emerged from the hallway to see the group sitting at a table that normally seated four but now had two more chairs sloppily pulled closer. A few other trainers and their pokémon hung around while two Chansey moved around the back of the counter.

As the two came closer they saw that Ash was in an intense thumb war battle with Max – and was losing terribly to the younger boy. Meanwhile Brock was standing at one end of the relatively small table with the chair pushed to the side, and making a sandwich as Misty instructed him to what she preferred. Pikachu was happily sitting back with a bottle of ketchup, which squirted out every time he laughed at Ash and landing on his small, yellow body.

"Wow, quite a party," Drew commented as he was moved to sit in the chair that Brock had rejected, with Ash on his left.

May took her spot on the opposite side next to Misty. Brock looked up with a grin. "Hungry?" he asked.

"No," Drew shook his head.

"Not yet you mean," Ash replied, not looking away from the battle he was waging. Finally, "Okay, forget this." He dropped his hand away with a pout.

Max shrugged as if he didn't understand his friend's frustration. "So, do you have it?" he questioned, looking past Ash to stare at Drew.

The green-haired boy let out a hiss of air. "Yeah..." he brought the hand onto the table and everyone looked over.

"Ouch," Brock commented.

Misty looked at him sympathetically. Pikachu stared at the cube blankly.

"Wow, how'd you get that far in one day?" Ash marveled, picking up the object and looking at all the sides.

"Not even a day. He had less than twenty-four hours," Max said matter-of-factly.

"But it was still impossible. Just look. How in the world would you move it so those last three..." May said, grabbing the cube from Ash and turning it over in her hands to examine it.

Max pushed his glasses to their rightful spot on his nose and took the cube away from her. Brock went back to finishing Misty's sandwich as everyone watched the kid genius twist and turn the cube a few times before coming out successful.

"Nice job, Max," Misty said with a smile. Drew shrugged helplessly.

"Showoff," May muttered, rolling her eyes away from her brother.

"So then what does he lose?" Ash questioned.

"A dare," Drew mumbled.

Everyone looked at Max intently, except Drew who was blowing his bangs away as he stared at the ceiling and putting his arms behind his head. He looked back down and noticed May's gaze on him.

"I think I'll just save it for later," Max finally announced, making Ash and Misty groan.

The group stayed up another hour, unable to control the sleep that crept in and with all the excitement gone when Max said he didn't have a dare ready yet.

**xoxo**

He woke up at his usual 'late' time – nine in the morning – and rolled over to try and get some more shut eye. After giving up and commencing with the normal morning routine Drew was out and about, leaving his room for breakfast.

On his way towards the lobby, someone called out to him. The green-haired boy turned around to see a younger boy with glasses jogging over.

Max paused just before Drew, then looked up with a glint in his eyes. "I have the dare," he stated, the words making Drew freeze.

"Oh. Right. Let's get it over with then," he responded, trying to fight off the feeling.

He smiled, pausing for effect. "You have to make May jealous," Max finally said.

Drew blinked in confusion. "Jealous? Of what?"

"Jealous," he replied, "Over you."

Drew still stared. "I don't follow. What?"

Max rolled his eyes. "Denial," he muttered. "You know...make her get jealous of you being tied down to something, or someone, else. Get her to throw a hissy fit."

"Doesn't this sound like you exacting revenge on your own sister?" Drew asked with cautious eyes.

"Trust me. It's about having you do something embarrassing and impossible! That's all!" Max smiled happily to himself. "You can use whatever means necessary, but no one else can know what you're trying to do. Not even a pokémon."

**xoxo **

**AGHHHH. Someone** hit me. Please. Maybe it'll set me straight and get some real work done. Instead of trying half-a**ed attempts at...this.

Three chapters total, all of which are done.

12-1-07


	2. The Middle

Summary–After pondering the biggest obstacle in Drew and May's "relationship", the gang decide to help with a devious plan that can only lead to bad things. Starts with a cube. Some jealousy, confusion and bad acting mixed in. Ends...period.

**Disclaimer–I do not own Pokémon, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–And she's so dense sometimes**

**Chapter 2–The Middle**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

Drew forgot about breakfast – only grabbing a bottled water and taking a seat at an empty table to think.

'Why would he want me to get May jealous?' he thought. And it kept repeating in his mind for the next ten minutes, still unable to wrap his head around it.

"Hey Drew!" a voice interrupted him loudly.

The boy jumped and turned to look up at the girl. "Misty," he said in acknowledgement.

"What're you doing?" she asked, glancing at the empty table.

Drew regarded her carefully, wondering if Max had told anyone about his dare. "Nothing. I think I'll just go get something to eat," he got up, ready to walk away.

"Wait!" she grabbed his arm. "We were planning on going out in an hour. To the beach," Misty smiled at him, and Drew realized she must have no idea. "I'm actually kind of surprised I got them to stay around for this long, so I'm taking advantage of it. With all the traveling Ash does, we never really got to enjoy the sights much. So you should really come along too!"

"I'm not sure–"

Misty just smiled wider. "One hour. We'll meet you right here." And then she turned to walk off.

The boy stared blankly after her. He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets and sulked, unsure what to do.

**xoxo**

"Did I mention that you have you get her to make a scene in front of us?" Max asked casually.

Drew narrowed his eyes and looked at the boy walking next to him. "What?"

"Yeah, otherwise it won't count. There won't be any proof," Max said with a sardonic smile.

The green-haired boy turned to look where he was walking, as the group was currently on their way to the beach. May and Misty were ahead of the boys by at least five feet, chatting excitedly and wearing baggy t-shirts and small shorts. Ash and Brock followed behind, discussing Ash's last gym battle in hushed tones because the girls had threatened against it, claiming the 'all work and no play' rule applied here. Then there was Drew, who had lagged behind, and Max, who had also done so to discuss something with the older boy.

They were already on the boardwalk, following the girls who were looking for a good spot on the sand.

"Oh yeah? And what if I just won't do your dare at all?" Drew replied arrogantly.

"Hey, I may be eleven, and weaker than you but it doesn't mean anything. Knowledge is power," he stated triumphantly, also looking ahead. Drew, though, glanced at the confident boy. "And I can just always tell May how much you don't wanna be here."

Drew froze, thinking of the hurt look that would be played across the girl's face.

"Or I can just lie and tell Brock and Ash you were trying to hit on Misty, which is actually a better option – even if it's a lie," Max pondered this as the girls talking ceased.

The four boys looked up to find the two girls already down the stairs and running across the sand. Ash sighed, wondering if Pikachu and his other pokémon were doing okay at the center.

"Besides, what are you? Chicken? Can't do such an easy dare? I mean, I'm sure Ash could–" Max started off, only to be stopped.

"What. Did. You. Say," Drew asked, grinding his teeth. The two of them stopped, even as Ash and Brock followed the girls slowly. "I am not a chicken!" he shouted, but none of the others heard.

Max grinned. "Fine. Then you'll do it." He quickly grabbed the older boy's hand and shook it firmly, as if this were a business transaction. "Good luck then."

"Okay, I will," Drew agreed, shaking back. The two turned and started towards the group again, with Max smiling widely and Drew stomping over with a scowl.

**xoxo**

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said stoically.

"Of course you are," she responded.

Drew sighed and looked up to the girl who was leaning towards him. She was wet from a game her, Misty and Ash had been playing in the water. Brock had wandered off after seeing a pretty face and Max was sitting under the other umbrella next the one Drew was under.

He started to color under her scrutinizing gaze, and turned away with a frown.

"Why don't you come and play with us?" she asked innocently, falling forward to sit in front of him.

He shrugged, not making eye contact.

"Don't you have a swimsuit?" she asked again.

"Yea..." he mumbled.

"Where?"

"Under my–"

May was already pulling him to stand up and suddenly he was shouting something and blushing. The brunette looked up from where she was crouched by his legs with his pants around his ankles. Misty, Ash and Max also glanced over to the scene.

"What're you doing?!" he shouted, looking around quickly.

"You said they were under your clothes... So what? I helped you out of them." Drew's head spun at the implication hidden beneath the simple words. "Now come and play with us!" she shouted, grabbing his hand to pull him.

Drew almost tripped over the pants at his feet. He snatched his hand away. "Okay, okay," he said, calming down considerably. He turned away and pulled his shirt over his head, then kicked his pants into the same pile.

Just as he made it to the water, Misty was walking out, heading to the bag next to Max.

"Where's she going?" May asked Ash, who was looking at the redhead. "I thought we were going to play a team game this time!"

"Oh, she just wanted to check something," he responded. "She'll be back in a sec."

Drew glanced back as Misty said something and waved to Max as she left. "Right...a team game of what?" He was jerked back as water hit his face. "Wha–"

May giggled to herself. "Sorry. You're not wet enough."

Once again, the boy's cheeks turned pink. "Not," he started wading through the water in the obvious predatory stance, "Funny."

May broke out to full-on laughter as she splashed more water at him.

Ash watched the two for a second before Misty came over.

"What's going on?" the redhead asked, looking to her best friend.

"Nothing. They're just," Ash looked at her with a mischievous grin, "Having fun."

The girl shrieked as she was suddenly grabbed around the midsection, lifted up and then dropped into the water. Max shook his head at the group and went back to his reading.

"Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way," May started, shaking her head to let the water from her hair fly at the other three. "How about we race?" She looked to Misty.

"Tag team?" the girl asked back.

"Definitely!" she agreed, both grinning.

Drew was thinking quickly, looking at the two of them. His eyes flickered around before announcing loudly, "I call Misty."

Two of the four gaped at him. Misty smiled happily. "Alright! Then that just leaves Ash and May. Good luck!" she stuck out a tongue at them while hopping over to her partner.

May stared at the pair uncertainly. Ash was shaking his head with a palm flat on his forehead. Misty shot him a look, which he caught and quickly strode over to May.

"Who first?" May questioned, still glancing at the green-haired boy.

"Me!" two people shouted, hands in the air and sporting fierce competitive expressions.

Drew and May glanced at each other and shrugged. They picked a calm point in the water where an empty plastic battle was floating – which May said she would make sure to pick up afterwards. Drew snorted at her good-girl behavior.

And then Misty and Ash were tearing up the water with fast, hard strokes while Drew and May floated back, waiting for their chance.

"What?" he asked after catching her stare.

"How come you chose Misty?" she asked blankly. "I thought I was your best friend," May joked with an easy smile.

Drew stared back, trying to form a plan. He turned back to the two currently racing. "Why not? She's practically lived in water all her life. So we're here to win," he stated, feigning a cocky attitude.

"Hey! I'm a great swimmer!" May argued back.

The boy glanced back to Max sitting on the blanket, who was now watching them.

"Drew!" someone shouted.

The two looked up to see Misty and Ash on their way back with the redhead in the lead. And she wasn't planning on changing that, which was why she got Drew's attention as they got closer.

In the end it was apparent that team Drew-Misty was going to win, so Ash started yelling out something other than cheers to his teammate.

"Grab his leg! Stop him!" he shouted, and Misty shot him looks.

"Sore loser," she mumbled.

"Me? A sore loser? I'll show you a sore loser!" Ash said, ducking under the water and dragging the girl under as well.

More than two thirds of the way back done, May had caught up with Drew.

"Where are they?" she called to him.

Slowly, the two came to stop at the spot where Ash and Misty should have been waiting. Drew turned around, looking for the two.

"There," he said flatly.

May rotated to see Misty lying on the beach face up with the tide moving over her legs and then out again. She was laughing and holding her stomach with one arm, the other above her head on the sand. Ash was two feet away, down on his hands and knees, chuckling a bit himself.

**xoxo**

"That wasn't a scene or a hissy fit," Max commented lightly.

"I'm working on it, okay?" he bit back.

Brock glanced over to the two, once again lagging behind. "What're you two talking about?"

"Nothing," Drew responded, then quickly jogged up to where Ash, Misty and May were talking. "We definitely would've won that race, right Misty?"

The redhead looked stunned that she was being addressed by name from Drew. "Well, yeah. Of course we would've! If Ash hadn't cheated, like the sore loser he is!" To this she leaned toward the boy and stuck out a tongue teasingly. "And I had a great partner too!"

Ash glared at her as they finally reached the pokémon center.

"Right, Drew?" Misty asked, grabbing his arm. May eyed the scene.

Everyone stopped walking in the middle of the lobby. Brock and Max looked at the other four.

"I think I'm gonna take a shower. I've got sand everywhere," May finally said, turning around and walked away with her beach bag.

The rest of the group stared after her. They all sighed and went off in separate directions.

**xoxo**

"Hey, what're you doing?"

"Eating. A cookie. You can see that with your own eyes," he replied frankly.

May rolled her eyes and sat down at the table across from Drew. "So, will you admit that you had fun hanging out with everyone today?" she asked with a smile.

Drew shrugged, then looked down at the cookie in his hand – only one bite gone. It was an awfully big cookie.

"How about...you join us while traveling? Won't that even more fun?" May went on excitedly. "You won't ever have to be alone! And it'll be great!"

She waited for a response. But Drew was busy staring off to the side, and chewing because he had just taken another big bite of his huge cookie. And he was even chewing slower than Slakoth.

May looked at him, her patience wearing out. When Drew was finally done, he slowly, inch by inch, turned to look at her again. And opened his mouth.

"Huh?"

The girl blinked stupidly at him. "W-what?! You didn't hear a thing I said?!" she asked in shock.

He looked at her with a blank stare.

May slowly stood up from her chair and took a deep breath. Before she leaned over the table to scream at him. "Why don't you just pay attention for once, huh?! What am I, your mother?! And get a grip! It's just a cookie!" She snatched it from his hands and stuck the whole thing in her mouth. She was lucky it fit – though only because two bites were already gone.

But then she couldn't find the room to chew it, and swallowing it whole wasn't an option. It crumbled a little in her mouth.

Drew watched as the girl before him made faces, trying to digest the cookie. Soon she was changing color and he got up, running away only to come back a minute later. By the time he was back she was breathing heavily and sitting back down. The cookie was no more.

He held out a hand with a bottled water, which she took and gulped down half of it.

"Thanks," she said weakly with a sheepish look after putting the bottle on the table.

Drew was sitting down again as well, face in a palm as his elbow rested on the table. "That was perfect," he said, looking at her.

"What was?" she asked, clueless.

He pushed back to lean against the chair. "Jealous over a cookie," he shook his head, smiling to himself.

"Huh?" May said again, staring at him.

The green-haired boy had moved on to laughing as he shook his head, facing downward to try and hide it. Then he looked up and the smile disappeared.

"You're just so dense sometimes," Drew said to her, the smile coming back.

May let out an irritated sigh and made a pouty face. "Well, then enlighten me."

The boy blinked.

**xoxo**

**Chapter two** done.

12-1-07

Wow, I have to say the response to this story and the few others I've been randomly coming out with has been really unexpected and I'm really grateful. Thank you so much!

12-4-07

5:27pm


	3. And an End

Summary–After pondering the biggest obstacle in Drew and May's "relationship", the gang decide to help with a devious plan that can only lead to bad things. Starts with a cube. Some jealousy, confusion and bad acting mixed in. Ends...period.

**Disclaimer–I do not own Pokémon, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–And she's so dense sometimes**

**Chapter 3–And an End**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

"Yea, well we all know your acting's bad anyway," he stated.

"Hey!" she protested.

**xoxo**

Everybody once again entered the scene from seemingly opposite directions, and coincidentally met up in the middle of the pokémon center's lobby. It was agreed that they would head out for dinner – though arguing over who would pay.

"So when are you guys gonna hit the road again? I can hardly imagine Ash settling down and giving up the next adventure," Drew said, folding his arms and smirking.

"When you put it like that..." Ash started off, thinking. Pikachu was perched on his shoulder, watching observantly.

"Soon I guess," Misty replied with a shrug. "We're in no hurry. There's not much going on at the moment. Well, nothing that I've heard about anyway."

Brock nodded along. "Right. Me either. I guess we should come up with a plan later."

Max coughed, only noticed by one person.

"What about you Drew? Are you planning on leaving us so soon?" May asked, looking over at the boy.

Drew stared at her longer than he meant to. Then he grinned. "If you're going to be so obvious about missing me I might just stick around longer."

The brunette made a face. "Right, that'll be the day."

Ash's eyes lingered around, pretending he didn't notice a thing as Brock and Misty were pointing at different places to eat.

"Oh come on! We should have a real meal for once! All that junk food isn't gonna help you get the girls any more than you do now, Brock," Misty was complaining, stopping her stride and forcing the rest of them to do so as well.

At this the breeder made a sour face. "Alright," he agreed. "But then you're paying for it."

In the background May, Ash, Max and Pikachu were going 'hoorah!' in chibi forms. Drew just stared at them all strangely as Misty sighed and gave in to her fate.

"Nice choice," Drew commented as they all walked in, and someone took them to be seated. "You sure you have the money for this?"

Misty crossed her arms. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

As they reached a table, Drew, who had been walking close behind the redhead, quickly moved to pull out a chair for her. Everyone else stared at the gesture, stunned. Even Misty eyed him warily before sitting down and thanking him. Then he took the seat next to her, with Ash shooting him a confused look, and taking the seat on her other side.

"So much for manners," Drew said, pretending to talk to himself.

May was the only one still standing, right across from her rival and eyeing him. "Well then why didn't you pull out a chair for me?" she asked, annoyed.

He glanced at her briefly, uninterested. "I did it for the lady."

The brunette fumed before taking her own seat. "Jerk," she muttered.

"See. A lady would keep her language in check," he went on, looking at her again.

"But Misty's said, and even _done_, tons of things that–" May was cut off from her argument as the waitress came over, wondering who let the group of kids into the restaurant.

Max fidgeted as he looked over the menu. Brock was already ogling the girl, who was only a few years older than himself. Pikachu, who had been quiet the whole time, was wondering why there wasn't any ketchup on the table yet.

"I'll have the steak!" Ash suddenly announced, before the girl had a chance to question them, her mouth open.

Misty groaned at the expensive price she'd be paying to feed the black hole known as Ash's stomach.

"Actually, I just need to know what you'd like to drink," the waitress looked around at the group. "I'll give you guys a few more minutes to decide."

Ash looked disheartened. Pikachu was sitting on the table and peering at the menu himself.

"But I could just take your order right now, if you want," the girl said quickly, giving Ash a quick smile.

"No way," Misty objected. "How is that fair to everyone else? And I'm the one footing the bill, so there's no way that's happening."

Although Drew had a plan in mind before the night had begun, he knew better than to interrupt the eternal war that was Ash and Misty's natural conflict.

Ash shot her a look. "You just have to ruin the evening for _someone_, don't you?"

"Okay, okay. That's enough guys," Brock said, looking between the two and then giving the waitress an apologetic smile. "Ash can wait until everyone's ready to order because Misty _is_ the one paying."

Everyone agreed, with Misty looking smug and Ash grumbling reluctantly. May looked around at her friends, staring at Drew after everyone else.

"So, what did you think about what I asked earlier?" May suddenly questioned.

Drew glanced up to see her gaze on him. "What?"

"About traveling with us! It'd be great, right? What do you think?" May questioned, looking excited once more.

The green-haired boy just rolled his eyes. "That again? Why bother? You already have a whole caravan with you, including all the unpleasant moments." At this he discreetly glanced at Misty and Ash.

Max stared around as Brock ignored them, still looking at his menu. And the night went on, not going according to plan and Max was starting to think his dare was just undoable.

**xoxo**

"Geez, that went well," he commented with heavy sarcasm.

"I say it's Misty's fault. She's so busy taking out her sexual frustration on Ash that there's no way–"

"What?"

She snorted. "And they say _who's _dense?"

**xoxo**

Twelve hours later Drew was coming in from a walk to find May already in the pokémon center's lobby. And not by herself.

She was chatting up her great coordinating skills to some guy who looked so vastly interested...that Drew assumed he must be faking it. He shrugged and walked by.

Two hours later, after Drew came in from training with his newest pokémon, May was still talking to the same kid – this time about unrelated pokémon topics. She was currently describing her home life with 'an annoying little brother'.

Another glance around revealed that Brock was sitting at a table with Max and Ash, a map spread out on the table in front of the three.

Then May giggled at something said by the boy and Drew found himself inviting his presence to their table.

"Oh, hi Drew," May said, looking up with a little surprise. The boy next to her was still grinning in her direction.

"I see your friends are already planning their escape from this town," Drew responded with a hair flip, something that hadn't been done in ages.

"Yeah," she replied, looking at the three briefly. "What about you?" Someone cleared their throat. May whipped around. "Oh! This is Jay. He's a pokémon trainer from this town. And that's Drew."

Drew eyed the other boy carefully. "So then, don't you have a house of your own to go back to?"

The other boy smiled through this. "Well, I just like hanging out at the pokémon center to meet all the travelers and see all the pokémon that come through town." He turned his blue head of hair to May, still smiling. "And May's got some interesting stories to tell. I'm hoping to see her pokémon later."

"I don't have my pokéballs with me at the moment," May said.

The green-haired boy watched as they shared what could only be described as a "moment" with smiles and all. He wanted to choke on something.

"How do you know he's not trying to steal some techniques from you?" Drew asked with a smirk.

May looked up to glare at her 'best friend'. "_Because_ Jay's a nice guy and wouldn't do that to anyone," she said with a strained smile. "You on the other hand, I'm still not sure about."

Even as he opened his mouth, Drew knew something was wrong and it might have started with that feeling in his gut...or stomach.

"Yeah, and that's why you're always hanging around me, right?" he shot back, still smirking. "And you know, maybe I was wrong. Why would he want to take techniques from you anyway?"

May was somehow in the same boat, wondering why she was letting Drew get to her and not dwelling on _why_ he was acting this way. She rose from her seat, glaring at him.

"Get off your high horse! I've beaten you a bunch of times! And since when do you care who I show off my knowledge about coordinating to?" she said angrily.

"I don't!" Drew replied.

"Oh, is that why you came over here to bother me and my new friend?" May questioned with a clueless, obviously played out expression before settling back to her glare.

Drew was already rolling his eyes at her. "You just think everybody's your friend, don't you?" he said in disbelief.

"So what if I meet a new guy and..." Her words trailed off suddenly and something dawned on her, which her face showed.

"What?" Drew questioned cautiously.

"Are you..." May asked, whispering and leaning forward. "Are you jealous?" she asked incredulously.

"I–" He was at a loss for words. Then he looked around the room to find nearly everyone was hanging onto his silence, waiting. "Oh shoot," he smacked his forehead.

"I'm guessing that's a yes." They both looked over to Jay, who was looking at them studiously. He rose from his seat. "It's been nice talking to you May, but maybe you should clear things up with your...friend here, who I'm sure would make a great boyfriend if you give him the chance." With that Jay waved and was walking away.

Drew was still shaking his head to himself. "...totally messed this up..." he was mumbling to himself.

"Yeah, you did."

Drew did look up this time to find the rest of the group assembled next to him and May.

**xoxo**

"I'm surprised we aren't tied to the chairs or something," Drew said in a low voice, leaning to his left where May was also seated on a wooden chair.

"Misty and Ash wanted to, but it's a little harsh," Max responded, causing the two to look up at the boy.

Brock was sitting on his own chair in a corner, arms folded stoically over his chest and a frown on his face, apparently playing bad cop in this scenario. Max paced in front of the two.

"Where are Misty and Ash?" May suddenly questioned, hands on her knees.

Max waved a hand. "Dunno. But we just need to get down to the matter here."

Drew looked at the younger boy with a bored expression.

Brock jumped up from his chair, pointing an accusing finger at Drew. "You couldn't complete the dare!" he shouted in their relatively normal sized room.

The accused perked up at the words. "What?" was his confused tone. "How do you know–"

May stayed quiet to watch.

"I just told him," Max quickly interrupted, walking between the two.

Drew was already looking at them suspiciously. "Wait...he knew about it all along!" he accused back. "You told me I couldn't tell anyone, not even my pokémon!"

Max and Brock exchanged a look. "Okay, so maybe he did know. But you couldn't tell anyone because you weren't allowed to have any help! So it doesn't matter that _I_ told him. It was just to make sure you didn't cheat." Brock nodded as Max spoke.

"Then what about Ash, Misty and Pikachu? Did they all know too?" Drew questioned, glancing at May, who only stared around at the three boys and playing her clueless card once again.

Brock snorted. "No way. They'd be bound to mess up something."

Everyone in the room agreed to that one, even May.

"Besides, they'd be the obvious choices to help carry out your dare. And if they knew it'd be too much acting for them," Max went on. "But I just told them a few minutes ago because it's all over now."

May suddenly raised her hand as if they were in a classroom. "What's going on?" she asked, looking around at them.

Max and Brock eyed her cautiously. "You have absolutely no idea what we're talking about?" Max questioned his sister.

May's brows furrowed. "Well...you mentioned the dare, so...that's all I've got."

Drew turned to look at her. "It doesn't matter now."

"Wait," Max interrupted. "You really don't know? Because just now it sounded like–"

"Like me asking Drew if he was jealous?" May asked with a triumphant smile, looking at Drew. "Why, yes, I was. Nice one, by the way. I didn't think you liked me so much," she said to him, batting her eyes for show.

Drew grumbled to himself, wishing his hands _were_ tied to the back of the chair. He turned red and looked away. "I do _not_ get jealous."

Brock and Max exchanged another look. "How about we give you guys some privacy so Drew can tell you all about what's been going on." The two nodded to each other and left the room.

When the door shut up, May was giggling uncontrollably as Drew shot up to pace around.

"Hey! Stop laughing," he said irritably. "That's not funny."

"Oh yes. It was," she responded, leaning back in the chair and stopping her laughter.

"Nice job to you too. I guess being clueless sometimes comes in handy. You must practice that face a whole lot," Drew turned to her with a smirk.

May glared. "Just be glad I'm even helping you out here. I could just tell them that I knew about your dare and plan since yesterday."

"And I could tell them how you got jealous over a cookie."

"I was not jealous!" she folded her arms. "Besides you were the one about to propose to it and all. It was just a cookie."

He quickly slid back into the seat. "So now what? I just totally screwed up the dare and he'll probably make me do another one, like..." Drew stopped, thinking hard. "Wait. What's the best way to make May blow up while she's jealous?" he asked himself, looking down in thought, a grin slowly coming together. "By asking her outright if she is!"

May stared at him with half-lidded eyes. "Um, could you stop talking to yourself?" she sighed. "And you know, I really don't think this dare is even possible. I don't get jealous."

Drew looked up with a sly expression. "Hey, remember that time last year when you saw me hanging out with a bunch of girls after a contest? And how you came up to congratulate me on my," he smirked, "Victory over you?" May watched him carefully and nodded slowly. "And I said you might as well join my group of fan girls if you're gonna be following me around all the time?"

The girl was slowly remembering how irritated she had been when he said these things. And she was getting angry just hearing it again. "Yeah," she replied through gritted teeth. "And I told you I wouldn't ever be a fan girl to you or anybody else. And that I _don't_ follow you around."

"And I said it was okay that you just couldn't come to terms with how you feel, because until then I would always have company," Drew said, grinning widely.

May looked away and pretended to be uninterested. "And I...I don't know, insulted them or something?" She gave a big yawn.

"No," Drew stretched out the word, shaking his head with that grin. "You said it was quality over quantity. That I probably needed a girl with more substance, like you."

She blinked. "Did I say that? That can't be what I said." She looked at him, her brows together.

He nodded. "So," he started off, "Were you..._jealous_?"

**xoxo**

"What are you doing?"

The two boys jumped and turned around to find Misty, Ash and Pikachu standing there giving them weird looks.

"We were just...trying to hear what's going on. Drew's telling May about the dare. And they don't know that you guys were in on it too. I told them Brock was the only other person," Max said.

Misty was interested. "So what did she say?"

Max shook his head as Brock answered, "We haven't been able to hear anything. They're either talking really low...or not talking at all."

The group looked around with raised brows and small grins. Pikachu looked up from where he was on the ground and shook his head.

"Of course I wasn't _jealous_!" she shouted from behind the door.

The five of them looked up.

"I thought you couldn't hear–" Misty started.

"Shh!" Max responded.

Brock slowly opened the door to the scene before them. They all stared incredulously as Drew was taking tentative steps around the two chairs to keep distance between him and May, though she kept advancing anyway.

"How could you even _think_ that?!" she asked loudly.

"It's just a question," Drew said with a smirk, moving cautiously. "And with the way you're making such a big deal out of it makes me think it's true."

May glared hard. "Why would I be jealous of some stupid girls who can't tell the difference between a Butterfree and a Beautifly!" she shouted, her voice becoming louder. "What makes you think you're the center of the universe anyway? Just because you won a few contests doesn't mean you're a god or something!"

Drew stopped walking, and May stopped a few feet away. "I may not be the center of the universe, but I must be the center of your attention sometimes, aren't I?" he questioned arrogantly, ignoring the flip in his stomach and instead flipping his hair.

The brunette made a frustrated sound to cover the fact that her ears were getting warm. "You're only the center of my attention when I'm trying to beat you to a pulp in competition," May retaliated.

Max looked to the others and they all nodded.

"Hey, guys! I think you should all just calm down now," Ash interrupted, walking between the two and looking back and forth at them.

"Oh please," May rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Why don't you take Misty to a dark corner and make-out already?"

At this the two mentioned started changing color. Drew snickered.

"And for the last time," May started, taking a deep breath. "I don't get jealous!" she shouted.

**xoxo**

"What just happened?"

The group assembled consisted of Misty, Ash, Max and Brock – sitting around one of the tables in the lobby, all looking dazed. Ash and Misty however could hardly glance at each other.

"I think...he just completed the dare," Brock stumbled out.

"And then accused Ash and Misty of having feelings for each other," Max continued, making the said two wince.

Brock sighed. "I guess the truth has to come out sometime." Max nodded along before speaking.

"You two are totally into each other."

"Might as well listen to May's advice."

They both spoke at the same time, staring Ash and Misty in the face and forcing them to look back.

**xoxo**

"Thanks, you definitely saved me," Drew said, running his hands through his hair in an almost nervous manner.

"No problem, you started it," May replied, looking nonchalant. "Although maybe I did it too well," she put a finger to her lip and made a face. "Wonder how long it'll be before Ash and Misty can look at each other again."

Drew looked over to her sitting on his bed, before seating himself next to her. "Nah, it was good," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

May rolled her eyes. "I don't get why everyone thinks _I'm_ so dense! If they would just tell me what's going on I wouldn't look like such an idiot!" she complained.

He smirked, shaking his head. "Aw, but you're so cute when you're clueless."

She turned to look at him slowly and Drew was wishing he'd swallowed his words at the unreadable expression she was wearing. Then she smiled. "Oh, so there's the Drew I remember! You have been acting a little strange the past few days."

He covered the sigh of relief by snorting at her words. "It's probably from hanging around your friends for so long."

"Hey! They're you're friends now too!"

"Great, now I'll look like an idiot all the time."

May smiled up at him sweetly. "You already do, _sweetheart_."

They stared at each other a moment, before there was a quick movement.

Outside the room and down the hall, the rest of the group watched as two people came running out into the lobby. Drew grinned while chasing May, who was laughing uncontrollably as she ducked people and pokémon while trying to escape the imminent attack.

"At least they're not in denial anymore," Brock said as the four watched.

"Yup, won't be long now," Max responded, chin in his hand.

Ash and Misty stayed quiet. They also noticed as Pikachu walked into the scene with a group of pokémon belonging to other trainers that he'd been hanging out with.

Max looked up at Brock. "We could try shock therapy next time!"

**xoxo**

Just outside, Drew paused in his chase as he caught May turn back with her bright smile, watching him.

And then he pounced, coming up lucky. The nervous feeling finally gave way to something even better than hearing his name being called by the announcer in a stadium full of strangers. Instead his name was being called out by a girl, trying to avoid the tickle attack he was implementing.

**xo end xo**

**Okay, so** no great ending there. But that's it. Cute, weird and strangely unsatisfying, I know. I hate it when my work comes out like this, which it's been doing a lot lately. Everything's so below my standards.

Anyway, hope you liked at least a little bit of it. Check out my other works, they're better.

12-1-07

Okay, this should be added in a few days (from writing this) and just wanted to say thank you all so much for a great response this story and my others have received over the past few days!

And if you're becoming a fan of me or of my work then you can always check my profile to see what I'm up to!

Once again, THANKS so much!

12-5-07

7:12pm


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